I made the candy basket/barrel cake last night for my husband's birthday dinner tonight. It turned out really cute, quite impressive actually, but would've been better with different ribbon. A shell border around the top was needed after the kitkats were applied, to keep the m&m's contained, because I had made the cake too tall (3 layers).

I planned ahead and attached the kitkats individually, instead of 4 at a time, to the chocolate buttercream. Only had curling ribbon in the house so that's what I used. When time came to serve the cake, it was nearly impossible to remove the ribbon without cutting it. The kitkats did not fall off after the ribbon was removed...Yet.

We were all stuffed from our dinner, so everyone wanted just a "small piece" so I cut pieces 2 kitkats wide. As I cut each piece, the kitkats and buttercream for that serving fell off. The cake was almost wet where the buttercream held the kitkats to the cake. And the m&m's went everywhere. Plink! Plink! Plink! It tasted good, but it was a little difficult to wrangle all the bits and pieces.

I learned a lot about what NOT to do if I ever make it again:
(1) Ice/decorate/eat all in the same day.
(too much time for moisture to accumulate and melt the buttercream if made in advance)
(2) 2 cake layers, not 3, for a better presentation.
(3) Fabric ribbon which ties/unties easily, or bring scissors.
(4) Don't eat a huge dinner first